GG Mariposa Plus

Thanks for posting. I just ordered up a Plus and Miniposa to see which one I like better.

David, let us know what you think of the Plus. I've been curious about it.

I've had a Mariposa Plus Custom for over a year now and love it.

I use a 4 section Z-Rest in the pad sleeve and the pack rests right in the small of my back.

I bought it mainly to use for sub-25lb loads.

You don't even really need the carbon fiber stays either, with lighter loads, I haven't had to use mine anyway.

I have recently received both the GG Mariposa Plus (2007) and the Miniposa and have been alternately loading them up and wearing them around the neighborhood to decide which one I prefer. Both packs have essentially identical suspension, straps, mesh panels, and features, but the Miniposa is 20% smaller volume and is all silnylon whereas the Mariposa Plus has tougher (70 denier 2.2 oz) urethane-coated ripstop nylon.

My impressions so far are quite positive for both of them, with a nod given to the Miniposa for an absolutely superb "carry". The Mariposa Plus, for some reason I don't understand yet, doesn't carry as well on your back.

…David "Longwalker" Long

David et al.,

Did you try varying the setup of your backpad with the Mariposa Plus? You could try using less sections for a closer fit to your back, etc? I'm going to try a sit-light pad once mine arrives. I opted for the Plus hoping that it would allow for lightweight winter hikes as well. I'll post when mine arrives and I get it packed up and give it a spin.

It would be nice if you could take a quick pick of them side by side if you get a chance.

Cheers,
Mike

Mike,

I took a couple photos of the Miniposa and Mariposa Plus for you, please see below. In both photos, I loaded them with identical gear and packed them the same way. The first photo is of the Miniposa — note that it is narrower and slightly taller with the same load. It's also semi-transparent. The second photo of the Mariposa shows how it's wider (you see less of my shoulder blades).

…Longwalker

David,
Really easy … when you post your message look above the "Add your comments/insight to this discussion:" in blue and you will see the "insert image at cursor" in orange. Just click on this to add your photos !!!
I just got my GG G5 pack in the mail on Friday and the quality is GREAT and the weight is sooo light. I also have the Miniposa on order for the girl friend and that is going to be a great pack as well !!!!!

I've been trying out my new Mariposa Plus around the neighborhood the last couple weeks. I am also very pleased with quality and function. Plan to get it out for longer in the next few days.

I'm toying with the idea of adding some additional velcro to the removable waistbelt though. There's really nothing wrong with the design as received (one velcro piece inside the belt sleeve in the center back), but it seems like an additional piece over the bottom ends of the stays on each side would transfer load from the stays to the belt a little more effectively. Will report back on how this works.

The Mariposa Plus is made from 70 denier 2.2 oz. urethane-coated ripstop nylon. The Mariposa (not "plus") is 30 denier 1.3 oz. silicone-coated ripstop nylon… same material as the Miniposa. I guess the fit and feel should be similar but the durability and weight will be very different. I just wanted to point this out.

Longwalker,

Just saw this post again. Thanks for taking those pictures for a bit of reference! My plus just arrived too, woohoo.

Feel free to share any other packing tips you might have. I noticed you have to be very careful when fitting the velcro back together on the straps to make sure it doesn't rub. Very nice looking so far and pretty comfortable just trying it on real quick.

Right now I'm using a sit-light pad for the backpad and trying to figure out what I want to use for a sleeping pad. I have a blue foam pad (cut down) that I'm currently using. I'll try to post pictures once I get all my gear in it by tomorrow night.

Gracias~

Mike/all,

re: sleeping pad/backpad: I'm using the GG Nightlight Torso pad for both my sleeping pad and backpad. I think that with the Mariposa or Mariposa Plus, you could get away with a sitpad for backpad and carry an additional pad rolled up inside the main pack, but with the Miniposa it seems to make the most sense to carry your sleeping pad as the backpad ('cause there's not as much room in the main compartment).

My further impressions of the Miniposa and Mariposa Plus are:

– I still prefer the carry of the Miniposa for some reason.
– The Mariposa Plus allows me to carry 10+ days of food with my gear;
the Miniposa limits me to about 6 days unless I lash on extra food on
top of the pack.
– When not full, I end up wanting to use the compression straps on the
Mariposa, but they make it less pleasant to load and unload the pack;
with the Miniposa, I don't feel the need for the compresion straps.

For reference, I have about 8 pounds of base weight in the pack; most of the volume is taken up by my uber-lofty Western Mountaineering "Versalite Super" sleeping bag. I also use a 1.3L Ti cookpot. If I carried a smaller sleeping bag and, say, a 600mL cookpot, I'm sure the Miniposa would carry it all easily. With my gear, though, I'm leaning towards keeping the Mariposa so I can carry enough food for 10 day trail stretches.

…Longwalker

An update on my experience with the Mariposa Plus:

I have used my Mariposa Plus on two different overnighters now. Even though I could have safely left some gear behind for single night trips with the great summer-like Idaho weather lately, I have been loading my full multi-day base load of 12 pounds (including pack), just to see how it carries. With two partial days of food and two liters of water, my total pack weights have been up to 18 pounds. The pack is a dream for these weights. The wide shoulder belts and generous hip belt are barely noticeable. I have no doubt that I could carry up to 10 days worth of food and gear (30 to 35 pounds) without significant discomfort.

Pack stability varies a little based upon configuration:

With the Torso-length NightLight folded 3-section pad in the backpanel, and the carbon stays installed, the pack bag tends to bounce a little if I’m jumping logs, jogging down hills, etc. This isn’t much of a problem, as most UL packs would do the same, but the more stable the better.

The second trip I used a single layer SitLight pad in the backpanel and a 3/4-length NightLight rolled pad as a virtual frame inside the pack. This configuration fit much closer to my back and was noticeably more stable, but still resulted in a little pack bag bounce.

In reviewing the setup during and after these trips, I came to the conclusion that I should try a couple load-carrying enhancements that I had been devising since I ordered the pack. First, I would make a set of curved stays from aluminum arrow shafts. Second, I would add two additional Velcro patches for hip belt attachment – one on each edge of the pack bag where the belt passes over the bottom ends of the stays.

To make the stays, I pulled a heavier curved aluminum stay out of a pack that I’ve used for years. I had shaped the heavier stays to fit me perfectly a few years back, so all I had to do was follow them as a pattern. I bent the aluminum arrow shafts over my knee, which was rather easy with a little care not to break them. This step took me all of 15 minutes, including cutting off the excess shaft, and the new curved stays slid right in. Total cost was $10. I was a little concerned about the shafts rotating in the pack under load, but with test loads around the house, this does not appear to be a problem. I suspect that the curved shape conforming to my back is enough to keep them aligned.

The Velcro patches were picked up at JoAnn Fabrics. They are 2×4 inch Industrial Strength sticky-back Velcro. I simply pealed and stuck them to the backside of the belt and to the corresponding location on the pack. I hand stitched around their perimeters to make sure they stayed in place, taking care not to stitch through the stay sleeves on the pack (I removed the stays to make sewing easier). This step took me about 30 minutes, including stitching in the bottom of the pack bag. Total cost was $2.

I have yet to get this new configuration back out on the trail, but I spent an hour or two trying it out around the house with a test load. So far, it appears that these modifications are going to pay off. My test loads now seem to stick to my back as if by friction along the now-curved backpanel surface. In addition, the bounce of the packbag is largely gone when correctly loaded (i.e. full).

My final Mariposa Plus configuration, with curved aluminum stays, SitLight backpanel pad, size large waistbelt, and size large pack bag weighs in at 23 ounces. For a pack with a 48 L main bag (up to 70 L total), curved stays, a comfy waistbelt, exterior bottle/gear pockets, and fairly durable fabric, I find this pack pretty tough to beat. In fact, I even picked up a larger stuff sack for my down sleeping bag and high loft synthetic vest since I’ve got space to burn (why risk over-compressing when the extra volume weighs next to nothing?).

I have now done a couple overnighters with my revised Mariposa Plus, and it has performed exceptionally. My mods were intended to reduce pack bounce that I observed with the stock configuration. All bouncing has now been effectively eliminated. I hiked all day on my last outing and never took the pack off or significantly adjusted anything. I was able to keep the shoulders straps comfortably loose the whole time as the hip belt did most of the work. I kind of forgot that I was carrying it! I was very happy with the pack prior to modification – I am thrilled with it now.

My stability enhancements were:
1. SitLight pad for the back panel instead of the NightLight (not a modification, but enhanced stability).
2. Curved stays made from aluminum arrow blanks.
3. Additional velcro attachments of the waist belt to the pack bag over the ends of the stays.

The pack is now incredibly stable for the 15 to 20 pounds max loads that I have been carrying. My most recent trip with the revised pack included some off-trail travel and crossing lots of fire fallen logs on-trail. I attribute the enhanced stability to a couple of mechanisms. First, the curved stays make the pack conform perfectly to my back. This alone seems to greatly reduce the pack bag's ability to slide up and down on my back when I make sudden movements. Second, the load is being transferred very effectively to the hipbelt, which stays flat, straight, and in position better than before. The bag is truly 'stuck' to the belt now.

Great pack, I give it a Highly Recommended.